TSMC Does Not See Triple-Gate Transistors as Economically Viable Solution

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said that while Intel Corp's 22nm manufacturing technology with tri-gate transistors has a number of advantages, it has no plans to implement something similar in the generations to come.

"We need the ecosystem to be ready for FinFETs, which means design tools, IP, design kits and so on. For us 20-nm will be planar," said Maria Marced, president of TSMC Europe, in an interview with EETimes web-site.

According to Intel itself, the 22nm process technology with tri-gate transistors provide up to 37% performance increase at low voltage versus Intel's 32nm planar transistors, and over 50% reduction of power consumption with similar performance. Some analysts further estimate that 22nm/tri-gate process tech provides performance/watt advantage of 10% - 20% for power optimized chips versus a planar 22nm process.

For TSMC it is important to optimize its process technologies in accordance with requirements of its clients. Naturally, TSMC's customers also have to develop their designs keeping in mind capabilities of the Taiwanese company. As a result, there are no immediate plans to change structure of transistor, which is tremendously important for stability at TSMC, a critical feature of contract semiconductor maker.

"We need the ecosystem to be ready for FinFETs, which means design tools, IP, design kits and so on. For us, 20nm will be planar," concluded Ms Marced.